10 Tips to Becoming a Better Writer

There is no one rule that will make any piece of writing perfect. If so, it wouldn't be much of a craft. Most writers begin stabbing in the dark until they hit a few things. Some people stumble into large objects quickly. Most writers, though, have to work their way through the darkness. After experience editing college newspapers and literary magazines, I've come up with the most common bugs in the writing system and a list of tips to help any writer.

1.True, everyone can write, but not everyone is a writer.

Picking up a novel and saying, "I could have written this," does not grant a person merit. The fact is, you didn't write the book. Most people who send me stories admit to not writing much, or briefly skimming the details before handing me a piece of work. If you do not write at least somewhat regularly, I am sorry, but you are not a writer.

A person doesn't use band-aids every few weeks and call herself a doctor.

Through experimentation and practice, each writer develops a specific voice. To anyone with a relatively familiar background in writing, this is common sense. Any major writer has a distinct style, just like famous musicians have particular sounds. A great writer develops an identifiable body of work. Writing well is not an innate quality, but one that is learned with time. That means writing regularly is what makes someone a writer.

2.The world you create should be more believable than the one you live in.

A lot of stories come to me with well-hatched plots and pretty drawn out characters, but they live in a black void of indistinct blurriness. On the other hand, they might live on Exterion 17 with the race of Olmarchs. No matter what the setting, it has to be adequately understood. For a writer, that should mean extensive research.

J.R.R. Tolkien developed an entire language and drew maps of the world he built. He wrote out a history and timeline, as well as developing familial ties within large communities.

It is not necessary to go to that depth, though it normally will not hurt. Think of writing non-fiction. Just because you are the only person with unlimited access to the world you have contrived doesn't mean whatever you say goes. True, there are freedoms of a writer, but they are limited to the level of belief or acceptance of the audience. You can write for yourself, sure, but if you want to write for other people, then write something that takes them away to a place they believe.

3.The ever-present stereotypes and gender roles are like cursing.

This leads me to point number three. When authors go to write something believable, they tend to reach out for what they know. This can lead to a heavy reliance on the dreaded stereotypes. As an editor, every time I come across "He gazed into her ocean blue eyes," or "The way her wheat colored hair," I cringe and cut. While accurate descriptions and certain story details are important, how a writer gets those details across is a majority of the art. Sometimes you can even work within a stereotype, though fresh writing is always better. For example:

a. "To Bill, her eyes shone like diamonds."

b. "The glint of her eyes cut Bill like glass."

There is a clear difference between both sentences, including mood and characterization, but both refer to "eyes being like a diamond." Again, fresh and inventive is better than recycled (not that recycling is bad).

As well as stereotypes, gender roles are out. It's one thing if you are writing a story about 1860's England and you put the character in the expectations of the time, but if you are writing an adventure story where the prince saves the damsel in distress (a lovely little stereotype), do not assume that everyone will just accept it. It worked for Disney for a long time, but now it's old to the new generations. Even video games have plenty of strong female and male characters. The same goes for romantic stories, because men fall in love too. Any writer can move out of the respectable Jane Austen witty and lovable female narrator. Don't be afraid to let a Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley take the voice.

4.A character is a vessel, and it has to be full.

If a person ordered a bottle of wine, and the waiter brought out a half full bottle, the customer would complain it was half empty. The waiter could easily say, "well you didn't give enough information," or "but look at how full it also is, half full!" As a writer, you should not give anyone a half empty feeling. Defending yourself by relying on the reader having previous information or just missing things is not professional. Sure, you know he lost his forth finger on the right in Vietnam, but unless you write that down, no one else will know.

The difficulty is separating a writer's mind from what ends up on the paper. Another problem is a reliance on physical description to help the reader make assumptions. For example, if I write about a tall, blonde character with a dark tan and a Gucci bag, the reader will make assumptions. So I wrote about a mildly specific person in relation to any other character I could have made, but that is not enough. I have only narrowed the readers focus down to any person who fits that description.

If you assumed I wrote about a girl, which I never specified, it proves that readers and writers alike are trained to make quick assumptions based on details. The writer, unlike the reader, is heavily required to be aware of that.

5.The importance rests in the details, so don't hide them.

Mystery is alluring. All of us secretly want to be Sherlock Holmes or Monk. On the other hand, great detectives have an eye for very fine details in a world they've lived within their entire lives (even if fictitiously). The reader does not have that luxury while reading what you write. Don't just write "Maria drank her warm wine." What type of wine? Red or white? From the spirits shop down the street or the bottle from her wedding? The details, including brand, give the reader an idea of what the writer has with them. This can determine an overall lookout, perspective and is an enormous piece of characterization.

6.Waste not, want not, because writing is about balance.

Now, detail is surely important, but too much detail will make a reader shut the cover on your freshly printed book. The way to go about your work is to remember that every single word is important. The choice an author makes bends and molds the flow and mood of a story. A great example of how important word choice comes through a look at twentieth century analytic philosophy. I know, it sounds scary on the surface, but philosophers such as Russell and Wittgenstein spent large amounts of time discussing language, meaning and words. Even Russell's theory of descriptions identifies the enormous difference between "the" and "a." This article can't adequately explain the philosophy, but the point to get across is that each word should be polished and chosen, not used.

Precision doesn't mean a person better write each word only after hours of careful concentration, but it means to be self aware. There should be nothing worthless in a story. If a writer gives a character a broken leg, it should have some purpose. Even if Bill just has to help Maria get up the stairs in the beginning. Give each detail a job. As well, cut details that are unemployed.

7.Edit until you are writing through the paper.

Editors don't normally get angry about a few small errors, especially in first drafts. Even books get published with grammatical errors frequently. It is about going through as a reader and finding the faults in your own work. To do this, a writer should wait a week to edit a piece, just to separate herself from the work. Learning the differences in major mistakes (there/their/they're) is necessary to a writer. Any person should learn how a tool works before starting to hammer at wooden planks with a screwdriver.

Mistakes are acceptable (urge to type exceptable for a laugh). Just know, in almost all cases, a teacher, editor or general reader can tell the difference between a piece that has been well-edited and one that was written and handed in without even a skimming.

Use your friends or join a class. I understand social anxiety and fear of rejection well, but if you love something and want it to be its best, you can get over it. Find a few honest and intelligent people with free time and ask for help. Go to online forums (cautiously) for advice on work. Reach out!

8.Nothing as a whole is new, but instead it can be fresh.

Love, zombies, monsters, aliens, robots, androids, monkey-men, mad scientists, the end of the world and man-eating tomatoes; everything has been done in some way or another. Although this can aim directly at science fiction writers, I think it goes for everyone. Every so often a new series will burst open as everyone begins to explore it, but even then it is already being created and becoming antiquated . So how do people still write memorable stories?

It's all about learning to separate plot from everything else.

Sure, plot is important. Characters without anything going on are just mannequins. That does not mean plot is the most important part of writing, and in fact, it is one of the least important. Conflict comes from characters, or it will if the characters are distinct. Even your best friend doesn't always agree with you. People fight naturally. So instead of relying on the plot to create something new, look to your characters and their interactions. Do you think J.K. Rowling was the first to write about wizards? Of course not, but her characters, those were hers alone. The way they interacted with the world around them drew millions of readers. So don't start trying to think of a plot and basing an entire story on that; look into where a person is at a time and figure out what he's going to do.

9.Deep is great, but not many people go deep-ocean fishing.

Imitation will inevitably happen. When a person paints a tree, they base it off of the trees they've seen. A writer will write books like the books he's seen. That's why I have to stress the importance between painting a palm tree and weeping willow. The painter will paint what she's seen. In turn, a writer tends to write what he's read.

On one hand, that means it is important to read a good amount, and it also means what you read will make a large difference in your writing. I tend to stress classics in English and European literature for starters, but sometimes that can be a problem too. I'm sure at least some others have seen the result: stories written in misused old English with rich, British narrators on a large estate, etc.

So here's the point. It is true you copy things from what you read, hopefully for the better. Each writer has to try not to do this too much, because otherwise you end up being a copy of something that is probably better than copies of it, no offense (again, depending what it is). Read a lot, more than anyone around you reads. It is studying style and voice and description and everything you want to do. Learn from those who have succeeded as well as the failures. See what people like and don't like. Try to find merit in the darkest of works and fault in the greatest works. Get such a large perception that you are forced to create yourself or be crushed beneath the pressure of everything.

10.Choose a narrator like a person chooses a spouse.

Understand, if you don't know who is telling a story, the inconsistencies will promptly abound. Is it a ghost looking back on her death or a man still dealing with the death of his wife. The Outsiders is a great example, because it is put in a context. Similarly, the movie American History X is an awesome example. The narrator can be a character, and be careful which you choose. In a large work you can use multiple narrators, or any writer can rely on the third person. Just don't let a story suffer at the hands of a narrator.

Is the story about the character's inner struggle? Is he unreliable and that gives power to the story, or does that just cause more difficulty? Learn the focus of what you're writing, and then find the voice that will best explore that.

Now, these are only a few general tips. Write more, that is the best advice I can give anybody. Listen more, see more and experience everything you can (within limits). Writing is about telling someone something through words, be it a story about the grandeur of the universe or a recipe for chocolate chunk brownies. Don't be afraid, but also be cautious. Writing is about devotion and creation.